Dump vehicle

ABSTRACT

A lifting mechanism for use with a vehicle adapted to transport and discharge material. The mechanism provides means for raising the elevatable end of the vehicle dump body a distance sufficient for clean dumping and for shifting the body in a selected direction relative to the vehicle so that there is a reduced tendency for the vehicle to overturn during material discharge. The mechanism comprises a first linear actuator pivotally connected at one end to the elevatable end of the dump body and an expandable truss structure connected between the vehicle frame and the other end of the first actuator. The truss structure includes a second linear actuator pivotally connected between the vehicle frame and the other end of the first actuator, and a link pivotally connected at one end to the frame at a point forward of the second actuator and connected at the other end to the other end of the first actuator.

United States Patent Reinhardt [451 Oct. 3, 1972 DUMP VEHICLE [72]Inventor: Robert L. Reinhardt, Lubbock, Tex.

[73] Assignee: Clark Equipment Company [22] Filed: Oct. 15, 1970 [21]Appl. No.: 80,867

[52] US. Cl. ..298/9, 298/14, 298/ 17.5, 298/22 D [51] Int. Cl. ..B60p1/30 [58] Field of Search ..298/9, 12-16, 17.5, 298/22 R, 22 D; 214/1465[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,049,378 8/1962 Nelson..298/14 2,174,956 10/1939 Allison ..298/9 Primary Examiner-Robert G.Sheridan Att0rneyKenneth C. Witt, John C. Wiessler, Robert H. Johnsonand Lewis J. Lamm ABSTRACT A lifting mechanism for use with a vehicleadapted to transport and discharge material. The mechanism providesmeans for raising the elevatable end of the vehicle dump body a distancesufficient for clean dumping and for shifting the body in a selecteddirection relative to the vehicle so that there is a reduced tendencyfor the vehicle to overturn during material discharge. The mechanismcomprises a first linear actuator pivotally connected at one end to theelevatable end of the dump body and an expandable truss structureconnected between the vehicle frame and the other end of the firstactuator. The truss structure includes a second linear actuatorpivotally connected between the vehicle frame and the other end of thefirst actuator, and a link pivotally connected at one end to the frameat a point forward of the second actuator and connected at the other endto the other end of the first 3919mm- 10 Claims, 5 Drawing FiguresPATENTEDUIIT 3 I972 SHEET 1 BF 2 FIG. I

FIG. 2

INVENTOR ROBERT L. REINHARDT BY M Z M ATTORNEY PATENTED B 3 I97? 3 .695709 sum 2 0F 2 FIG. 3 To FIG. 4

FIG. 5 24 72 T INVEN'TOR ROBERT L. REINHARDT ATTORNEY DUMP VEHICLEBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to lifting mechanismsfor vehicles used to transport material from a loading area to a dumpingarea and adapted to discharge the material upon arrival at the dumpingarea. One type of such vehicle comprises a dump body carried upon avehicle chassis and hinged at the rearward or discharge end thereof sothat the forward or elevatable end of the dump body may be raised by alifting mechanism for the gravitational discharge of material to therear of the vehicle. Such vehicles may also comprise a turntable adaptedto pivotally support the dump body above the vehicle chassis so that itsdischarge end may be rotated to either the right or left side of thevehicle and the material discharged in the usual manner as the vehiclemoves along the side of an area to be worked, either alone or in convoywith a number of similar vehicles. One type of lifting mechanismcommonly used to effect such material discharge comprises linearactuators connected between the vehicle chassis frame and the dump bodywhich are adapted to raise the elevatable end of the dump body when theactuator is selectively extended. Such actuators are usually orientatedto operate through a substantial angle, being nearly horizontal at thebeginning of dump body lifting and moving toward the vertical as theelevatable end of the dump body is raised. Because it is necessary toraise such elevatable end a substantial distance above the discharge endof the dump body to insure complete dumping of the material containedtherein, and because the actuators must provide a sufficient verticalforce component to overcome the fully loaded gravitational force of thematerial, the commonly used'lifting mechanism comprises a ratherexpensive and complex actuator capable of substantial force exertion andsubstantial length extension. The horizontal force component exerted bysuch lifting mechanism must be counteracted by the hinging structure atthe discharge end of the dump body, usually requiring the structure towithstand undue shearing forces. Further, in side dumping vehicles thecenter of gravity of the material contained in the dump body may shiftbeyond the wheel base of the vehicle during dumping so that there is atendency for the truck to overturn toward the side of materialdischarge.

A principal object of my invention is to provide an improved liftingmechanism for vehicles adapted to transport and discharge material. Thelifting mechanism I provide is adapted to raise the elevatable end ofthe dump body a distance sufficient for clean dumping of the materialcontained therein while exerting minimal shear forces upon the structurehinging the discharge end of the dump body. The lifting mechanism Iprovide is further adapted to shift the dump body in a selecteddirection so that there is a reduced tendency for the vehicle tooverturn during side dumping.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In carrying out my invention in one preferredform thereof, I provide a lifting mechanism for raising the elevatableend of a load carrying portion above the frame of a vehicle and forshifting the load carrying portion in a selected direction relative tothe frame. The mechanism comprises a first extensible linear actuatoroperatively connected at one end thereof to the elevatable end of theload carrying portion and an expandable truss structure connectedbetween the frame and the other end of the first linear actuator. Thetruss structure includes a second extensible linear actuator and a link,the second actuator being pivotally connected at one end thereof to theframe and at the other end thereof to the other end of the firstactuator, and the link being pivotally connected at one end thereof tothe frame and at the other end thereof to the other ends of the firstand second actuators.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of avehicle embodying this invention,

FIG. 2 is a view from the rear of the vehicle shown in FIG. 1 withportions in phantom, and illustrating the load carrying portion in thelongitudinally aligned transport position,

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the load carrying portionrotated to the transverse position preparatory to dumping of material tothe left side of the vehicle,

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the load carrying portioninan intermediate position to illustrate the shift of the load carryingportion relative to the frame and to illustrate the intennediateposition of the lifting mechanism, and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the load carrying portion inthe fully elevated, or material discharge position.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawing,a motor vehicle embodying this invention is indicated generally by thenumeral 10. Vehicle 10 has a chassis frame 12 supported by front pairsof ground engaging wheels 14 and rear pairs oftandem ground engagingwheels 16 and 18. A drivers cab or compartment 20 is carried by frame 12at the front end thereof and a supplemental frame indicated as a wholeby the numeral 22 is pivotally supported upon chassis frame 12 at therearward end thereof to support an elevatable load carrying portion .ordump body 24 above the chassis frame. Referring to FIG. 2, chassis frame12 includes the usual longitudinal members 26 and 28 that areinterconnected by a suitable number of transverse members, such asmember 30, toform a horizontally disposed frame structure. Supplementalframe 22 comprises longitudinal members 32 and 34 that areinterconnected by a suitable number of transverse members, such asmember 36, and is supported upon chassis frame 12 through a turntable 38of common design so that dump body 24 may be rotated through a selectedangle either clockwise or counterclockwise in a plane parallel to frame12 by known power means (not shown) for the side dumping of materialcontained in the dump body either to the right or the left side ofvehicle 10. Tumtable 38 comprises a circular plate 40 connected belowsupplemental frame 22 that is adapted to bear upon a circular plate 42connected above chassis frame 12 for the pivotal support of thesupplemental frame above the chassis frame about a king pin 44 passingthrough aligned bores central to both plate 42 and plate 40. King pin44.defines the pivotal center of supplemental frame 22 and dump body 24about chassis frame 12 and is located to place such pivotal centerdirectly and vertically beneath the centroid indicated at 46 of the dumpbody while the dump body is in the unraised positions shown in FIGS. 1through 3, thereby balancing forces that may urge the vehicle tooverturn when the supplemental frame is pivoted either clockwise orcounterclockwise for side dumping.

Referring to FIG. 3, dump body 24 and supplemental frame 22 are shown ina position preparatory to the dumping of material contained in the dumpbody to the left side of vehicle 10. Supplemental frame 22 and dump body24 may also be rotated for dumping of material to the right side ofvehicle and the operation of the apparatus as hereinafter explained issimilarly applicable to such dumping right. The elevatable end 48 ofdump body 24 is connected to, and supported above the normally forwardend 21 of supplemental frame 22 by lifting mechanisms that comprise asystem of mechanical links and extensible linear actua' tors, one suchlifting mechanism located on either side of the supplemental frame asindicated generally by the numerals 50R (FIG. 3) and 50L (FIG. 1). Thedischarge end 52 of dump body 24 is supported above the normallyrearward end 23 of supplemental frame 22 by a hinging structurecomprising allochirally related hinging links 54R (FIG. 3) and 54L(FIG. 1) that are pivotally connected at one end to rearward end 23 ofthe supplemental frame by the pin 56 and at the other end to dischargeend 52 of the dump body by the pin 58. Lifting mechanism 50R comprisesan extensible linear actuator 60 pivotally connected at one end tosupplemental frame 22 through a pin 62, and a link 64 pivotallyconnected at one end to supplemental frame 22 through a pin 66 locatednearer forward end 21 and elevatable end 48 than the location of pin 62.The other end of link 64 is pivotally connected to the free end ofactuator 60 through the pin 68 so that a triangular truss structure isformed that may be expanded by the selected extension of actuator 60.Lifting mechanism 50R also comprises another extensible linear actuator72 that is pivotally connected to the truss structure at pin 68 and toelevatable end 48 of the dump body through pin 74 to support and raisethe dump body. The aforementioned extensible linear actuators arepreferably hydraulic cylinder mechanisms with actuators 60R-60L andactuators 72R-72L connected, respectively, to operate in parallel and tobe selectively extended by any suitable control means.

In operation, material contained in dump body 24 is transported byvehicle 10 from a loading area to a dumping area with the supplementalframe and dump body in the longitudinally aligned transport positionshown in FIG. 1. Upon arrival at the dumping area, and assuming that itis desired to dump the material to the left side of the vehicle, thepower means for turntable 38 is activated to rotate the supplementalframe and dump body upon the turntable to the transverse position,preparatory to dumping left shown in FIG. 3. During rotation to thetransverse position the centroid 46 remains directly above king pin 44so that the vehicle is not urged to overturn as a result of suchrotation. When it is desired to discharge the material contained in thedump body, actuators 60R and 60L are first extended by the operator toexpand the triangular truss structure to the intermediate position shownin FIG. 4, thereby pivoting actuators 72 toward a vertical position fora more vertical exertion of forces in raising the elevatable end ofthe'dump body during material discharge. During expansion of the trussstructure the shifting movement of dump body 24 relative to supplementalframe 22 is defined by links 54 and 64 so that centroid 46 is shifted inthe direction of elevatable end 48 of the dump body and away from theside of the vehicle to which it is intended to discharge material, asindicated in FIG. 4. Such a shift in the location of centroid 46partially counteracts the vehicle overturning moment resulting from themovement of the center of gravity of the material contained in the dumpbody toward the discharge end 52 when the elevatable end 48 is raised.Links 64 support a portion of the fully loaded weight of dump body 24 sothat the strength of actuators 60 need only be sufficient to expand thetruss structure. As dump body 24 is shifted to the intermediate positionthe hinging structure comprising links 54 and pins 56 and 58 merelyguide and support the discharge end of the dump body so that thestructure is not required to withstand the horizontal force componentexerted by actuators 60 and the shear forces exerted upon this structureare minimized. Finally, as shown in FIG. 5, actuators 72 are extended toraise elevatable end 48 and pivot dump body 24 about the transversehinging axis defined by pins 58 of the hinging structure, thereby urgingthe material contained in the dump body to discharge by gravitationalforces to the left side of the vehicle.

While I have described and illustrated herein a preferred embodiment ofmy invention, incorporated in one type of vehicle, it will be understoodto those skilled in the art that my invention may be incorporated in avariety of vehicles and that other embodiments and modifications of theinvention may be made, as by providing a common track and rollerstructure to guide and support the discharge end of the dump bodyinstead of the hinging structure herein disclosed. It should beunderstood, therefore, that I intend to cover by the appended claims allmodifications and variations which fall within the true spirit and scopeof my invention.

I claim:

1. A vehicle adapted to transport and discharge material comprising ahorizontally disposed frame,

a load carrying portion supported above said frame and having anelevatable end and a discharge end, first extensible linear actuatoroperatively connected at one end thereof to said elevatable end,

a second extensible linear actuator pivotally connected at one endthereof to said frame and at the other end thereof to the other end ofsaid first actuator,

a link pivotally connected at one end thereof to said frame andpivotally connected at the other end thereof to said other ends of saidfirst actuator and said second actuator, said link being pivotallyconnected to said frame at a point nearer said elevatable end of saidload carrying portion than the point at which said second actuator ispivotally connected to said frame so that said link pivots between adiagonally rearwardly inclined position and a substantially verticalposition when said second actuator is extended.

2. A vehicle according to claim 1, also comprising a hinging structuredefining the transverse axis about which said elevatable end may beelevated relative to said frame and supporting said discharge end whensaid portion shifts relative to said frame.

3. A vehicle according to claim 2, wherein said hinging structureincludes a hinging link pivotally connected at a first end thereof tosaid discharge end of said load carrying portion and pivotally connectedat a second end thereof to the rearward end of said frame, said pivotalconnection at said first end defining said transverse axis, said hinginglink being pivotal about said second end between a diagonally rearwardlyinclined position and a diagonally forwardly inclined position.

4. A vehicle according to claim 3, comprising a chassis frame andturntable means, said turntable means supporting said frame above saidchassis frame and defining a pivotal center, said pivotal center locateddirectly and vertically beneath the centroid of said load carryingportion when said elevatable end is not elevated and said frame beingrotatable through a selected angle about said pivotal center eitherclockwise or counterclockwise relative to said chassis frame.

5. A dump vehicle having a dump body comprising a vehicle frame,

means supporting the dump body on the vehicle frame enabling it to betilted relative to the frame for discharging a load from one end, saidmeans including linkage means connecting the dump body to the frame fortilting and also for shifting movement relative to the frame on spaced,parallel, transverse pivot axes, one pivot axis passing through the dumpbody and moving in a forward and upward arc about the other pivot axisso as to effect the shifting movement of the dump body in a directionaway from the discharge and simultaneously with the tilting of the dumpbody whereby a corresponding shift in the center of the load relative tosaid frame occurs tending to stabilize the vehicle during dumpingoperations.

6. A dump vehicle according to claim 5 wherein said linkage meansincludes a pair of rigid links, one on each side of the dump body, eachhaving a lower end pivotally connected to the vehicle frame below thedump body and inclining rearwardly with the opposite ends of each linkpivoting on said one transverse pivot axis.

7. A dump according to claim 6, including a first pair of hydrauliccylinders, one on each of the dump body and each pivotally mounted atthe lower end to said vehicle frame and inclined forwardly for pivotalconnection on said one transverse pivot axis whereby extension of saidhydraulic cylinders will move said pair of links toward a verticalposition.

8. A dump vehicle according to claim 7, including a second pair ofhydraulic cylinders, one on each side of the dump body, each having itslower end pivotally mounted on said one transverse pivot axis andinclining forwardly with the upper end being pivoted on anothertransverse pivot axis passing through said dump body.

9. A dump vehicle according to claim 8, wherein said dump body ispivotally mounted on said last mentioned transvers ivot axis.

10. A uenp vehicle according to claim 9 including a second pair of linkspivotally connected between said frame and dump body rearwardly of saidother pair of links and inclining rearwardly in the lowered position ofsaid dump body.

3,695,709 October 3, 1972 Patent No. Dated Robert L ReinhardtInventor(s) Itis certified that error appears in the above-identifiedpatent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 6, line 14, offer "dump" inserr vehie|e-- Column 6, line 15,after "each" insert side Signed and sealed this 17th day Of April 1973..

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M. FLETCHER,JR. I ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer-C'o'nunissioner' of. Patents F ORM PC3-1050 (10-69) USCOMM-DC 60376-P69n u.s. .eovnuulwr rnnmus ornc: I!" b-au-au

1. A vehicle adapted to transport and discharge material comprising ahorizontally disposed frame, a load carrying portion supported abovesaid frame and having an elevatable end and a discharge end, a firstextensible linear actuator operatively connected at one end thereof tosaid elevatable end, a second extensible linear actuator pivotallyconnected at one end thereof to said frame and at the other end thereofto the other end of said first actuator, a link pivotally connected atone end thereof to said frame and pivotally connected at the other endthereof to said other ends of said first actuator and said secondactuator, said link being pivotally connected to said frame at a pointnearer said elevatable end of said load carrying portion than the pointat which said second actuator is pivotally connected to said frame sothat said link pivots between a diagonally rearwardly inclined positionand a substantially vertical position when said second actuator isextended.
 2. A vehicle according to claim 1, also comprising a hingingstructure defining the transverse axis about which said elevatable endmay be elevated relative to said frame and supporting said discharge endwhen said portion shifts relative to said frame.
 3. A vehicle accordingto claim 2, wherein said hinging structure includes a hinging linkpivotally connected at a first end thereof to said discharge end of saidload carrying portion and pivotally connected at a second end thereof tothe rearward end of said frame, said pivotal connection at said firstend defining said transverse axis, said hinging link being pivotal aboutsaid second end between a diagonally rearwardly inclined position and adiagonally forwardly inclined position.
 4. A vehicle according to claim3, comprising a chassis frame and turntable means, said turntable meanssupporting said frame above said chassis frame and defining a pivotalcenter, said pivotal center located directly and vertically beneath thecentroid of said load carrying portion when said elevatable end is notelevated and said frame being rotatable through a selected angle aboutsaid pivotal center either clockwise or counterclockwise relative tosaid chassis frame.
 5. A dump vehicle having a dump body comprising avehicle frame, means supporting the dump body on the vehicle frameenabling it to be tilted relative to the frame for discharging a loadfrom one end, said means Including linkage means connecting the dumpbody to the frame for tilting and also for shifting movement relative tothe frame on spaced, parallel, transverse pivot axes, one pivot axispassing through the dump body and moving in a forward and upward arcabout the other pivot axis so as to effect the shifting movement of thedump body in a direction away from the discharge and simultaneously withthe tilting of the dump body whereby a corresponding shift in the centerof the load relative to said frame occurs tending to stabilize thevehicle during dumping operations.
 6. A dump vehicle according to claim5 wherein said linkage means includes a pair of rigid links, one on eachside of the dump body, each having a lower end pivotally connected tothe vehicle frame below the dump body and inclining rearwardly with theopposite ends of each link pivoting on said one transverse pivot axis.7. A dump according to claim 6, including a first pair of hydrauliccylinders, one on each of the dump body and each pivotally mounted atthe lower end to said vehicle frame and inclined forwardly for pivotalconnection on said one transverse pivot axis whereby extension of saidhydraulic cylinders will move said pair of links toward a verticalposition.
 8. A dump vehicle according to claim 7, including a secondpair of hydraulic cylinders, one on each side of the dump body, eachhaving its lower end pivotally mounted on said one transverse pivot axisand inclining forwardly with the upper end being pivoted on anothertransverse pivot axis passing through said dump body.
 9. A dump vehicleaccording to claim 8, wherein said dump body is pivotally mounted onsaid last mentioned transverse pivot axis.
 10. A dump vehicle accordingto claim 9 including a second pair of links pivotally connected betweensaid frame and dump body rearwardly of said other pair of links andinclining rearwardly in the lowered position of said dump body.